Building Relationships with Your Landlord

by Bishop's Move, 09 May 2017

When you are renting a property, one of the most important factors to your happiness is making sure that you build a good relationship with your landlord. One of the main reasons that people are unhappy in their rental property is because they are on bad terms with their landlord. But there are a few things you can do to try and make sure that you have a better relationship - here are a few tips on how you can do this.

Pay Your Rent On Time

This might seem like one of the most obvious factors but many people often forget to pay their rent on time for one reason or another. Although life can get in the way and other bills can appear, forgetting to pay your rent or simply paying it late will really damage the relationship with your landlord. Your landlord will have bills to pay and potentially a family to support, too - the rent money is often their income. Make sure that you set up a direct debit or ask your landlord if you can pay your bills online to make sure you are paying it on time.

Carry Out Small Repairs Yourself

Although it is the responsibility of your landlord to carry out repairs on the property, you should consider carrying out minor repairs yourself. Having to come out just to replace a light bulb or the battery on your smoke alarm can be a chore your landlord would rather avoid. Many of these problems can also be fixed easily and without much expense to you; by taking these tasks off their to-do list you'll help to build a good relationship. However, if there is a bigger issue with the plumbing or electrics, for example, you should then call the landlord to carry out these repairs.

Be Mindful of your Demands

Make sure that you consider any demands or requests carefully and think about what it would take for your landlord to put this in place. Requesting major structural changes simply won’t happen as this will cost your landlord thousands of pounds. You would be better advised to request smaller changes to the property such as cosmetic changes or small decorative improvements. The landlord is much more likely to take action on these requests if they are reasonable; extravagant demands will just be an annoyance.

Keep It Tidy

One thing that you should remember is that your landlord has the right to inspect your property and might want to make sure you are keeping it tidy. If you don’t clean the property regularly or alert them to any broken areas of the home, they could become upset and cause a rift in your relationship. It’s important that you keep the property clean and in a reasonable order so that you don’t start to have problems with your landlord. You should also consider your neighbours too, especially if you are living in a flat. Your landlord will likely receive complaints if you aren't respectful of your neighbours.

If you are planning on renting a new property in the future then take this advice onboard to ensure that you have a good relationship with your landlord. If you establish a good relationship in the first place then your landlord will be more likely to help you out when you need it - you may even need a reference in the future. However, if you start things off on a bad relationship then it could cause you problems in the long term. If you need to move your belongings into your new rental property, Bishop’s Move can help you get everything there safely.